RWBY: Alexander Skye and the Adventures of Team STFA
by Nidraug
Summary: Alexander Skye and his slightly older brother, Samuel, are starting their first semester at Beacon. Follow them, team RWBY, and other interesting characters through their epic four-year journey through Beacon Academy, not changing the canon series a bit!
1. I: A New Frontier

Alexander dreamed, as he often did, of the wall.

A solemn and towering thing, the wall stretched on endlessly in both directions, made from metal and rock and fear. A crow surrounded him, wanting passage through was landscape consisted of hills that rolled on into mountains, the former covered in dead grass, dry shrubs, and the occasional skeletal tree, while the latter was just rock and ice. A river carved its path parallel to the wall, about a mile away, and a cool breeze flowed through the crowd, chilling Alex to the bone.

The ice that capped the mountain tops began to spread in all directions, and the wall raised a barrier of light to keep it from crossing. The crowd sensed it was trapped, and began to panic. Some tried to climb the wall, others turned away to try to run around the ice, and the rest swarmed along the wall's sides, trying to break it down.

The ice reached those who tried to outrun it, and its victims fell into frozen heaps. It got closer, and Alex himself started to feel the cold. It began to encase him, and he felt his fingers numb. He felt fear, not of death, but of an enemy he couldn't fight. He lost his battle and collapsed, frozen by ice and fear...

* * *

Then he woke up.

His brother knocked on his door, "Good morning! Better get ready, Beacon won't wait on just us!"

He glanced at his calender to see today was the day they would move to Beacon academy and start their lives as huners in training. He thrust himself from his bed, pulled his combat clothes out from the droor, dashed through the apartment, passing his brother, and rushed into that floors showerhouse. His brother glanced down the hall, shaking his head with a smirk, and went back into the apartment to pack their things.

A few minutes later, Alex hopped out of the showerhouse and into their small apartment. He was dressed as he usually was, with a black body suit that covered him from neck to toe at the bottom layer. Over it was a pair of navy blue csngo pants and a trench coat of the same color. The pants had a belt with a holister on one side and a rechargepouch on the left, and metal greaves and boots with a silver shine. The trench coat had an upturned collar, widened lower sleeves, and a magnetic lock system holding the flao across his chest, and the coat tail almost reached his ankles. The last garment he wore was a sky blue scarf around his neck.

His brother came out of the bedroom with four packed duffel bags, which he dropped on the floor. He was wearing violet pants over his body suit, along with leather boots, a grey jacket, and a violet hooded cloak. He was about three months older and five inches taller than him, standing at six feet and three inches in height.

"You ready to go?" he asked, glanceing at the wall-mounted clock.

Alex nodded, and they headed downstairs. Once there, the weapons quartermaster handed them a box labled 'Samuel Skye & Alexander Skye'. They opened the box and retreived their battle tools, Sam slinging a sniper rifle across his back with a compacted shield at his waist, and Alex putting on two metal gauntlets under his widened sleeves, and an eighteen inch revolver in its holister.

"Good luck at beacon, you two," the quartermaster said, "i'm gonna miss ya."

"You too, Stan," Sam replied, "we had a wounderful time here. Goodbye."

Stan waved at them as they left, and the brothers began their short trip to where the airship would land. Once there, they both showed the official their forms and walked up into the craft's main hold. Once inside, they looked around to see many of the other students were already on.

"Okay," Sam said to his brother, "time to make some friends. Lets split up."

* * *

Weiss Shnee looked upon the other first years with a mixture of judgement, distrust, and plain disgust. 'I don't belong here' she thaught to herself, 'none of these people could possibly understand what it takes to be a true huntress'. Just as she was about to request another transport, she spotted Phyrra Nikos, the strongest fighter she ever heard of. She decided to go over to recruit her but was stopped when a figure stopped in front of her, holding out his hand.

Weiss looked at him, and was almost immediately ensnared by his eyes. They were a deep sea blue, with flecks of shiny silver shimmering in and out. She looked the rest of his face over to find he had reddish blonde hair, a firm jaw, and a hand that was still extended towards her.

"I'm Alexander," he said, "its a pleasure to meet you."

Weiss turned to the side and crossed her arms. "I'm not going to shake that," she said, glancing at his hand.

"Harsh," Alex said, drawing his hand back, "I expected the heiress of the Shnee dust company to be spoiled, but not rude."

"Wha- how DARE you!" she stammered, stomping her foot.

"It's obvious I should try to make friends with other people," he stated, turning around and leaving.

Weiss just stood there, fuming. She forgot all about Phyrra and stomped off, enraged by this 'Alex'.

* * *

Sam approached a pair of girls talking to each other, one with long yellow hair and clothes fit gor a boxer, and the other with shorter hair and a red cloak who looked two years two young to be here. He reached his hand out when there seemed to be a break in the conversation, and introduced himself.

"Greetings, my name is Samuel, but freinds call me Sam."

"I'm Yang," the boxer said, shaking his hand, " and this is my little sis, Ruby."

She gestured to the red girl, who rubbed the back of her head and said "hi" meekly. Ruby looked away and began shifting side to side, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well hello, Ruby," he said, getting a glance from her, " you look a little young to be attending Beacon. You must have impressed professor Ozpin a LOT. How did you do it?"

"Well..." she started, "it was mostly Crescent Rose that did the work."

"May I see Crescent Rose?"

"We're not allowed to open our weapons on the airship," Yang answered, "but you'll probably see it during the challenge tomorrow!"

"Great, we'll see you then!"

"We?" both Ruby and Yang queried.

"Yeah, we," he answered, "my brother is just over there."

He pointed to the figure in a navy blue trench coat, talking to a girl clad in white armor.

* * *

Her name was Fiona, and Alex had made a great first impression. So far, he had learned only her name, but they continued to talk, and he learned more. She was wearing white, lightweight plate mail from the top of her toot to her collar bone, and her helmet was currently tucked under her left arm, letting her long auburn hair roll down her back. She had what appeared to be a hollow-center sword strapped to her thigh, but other features showed that the handle extended into a long shaft, turning it into a spear with a long tip.

"...I'm from a family full of successful hunters and huntresses," she continued, "so I decided to follow in their footsteps."

"Wow," Alex said in awe, "my brother and I are the first ones of our family to chase a career like this. We're kind of new to all of this."

"Well, if we get on the same team, I can teach you a few things, " she said.

The airship came to a halt, and the other students started filtering out. They said theie goodbyes and went seperate ways. Alex met up with his brother and they followed other students into the announcement hall.

* * *

After professor Ozpin's "inspiring" speech, they moved into the hall where they would spend the night in sleeping bags. They shared what thay had lwarned that day and then went to their different occupations. Alex put on his headphones and Sam pulled out a book. They were both deep into their things when they overheard an argument start. They looked over to see Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and an unknown girl with a black bow. They were just about to interject when the bow girl blew out the candle and plunged the room in darkness.


	2. II: The Challenge Part 1

The wall was there, looming over Alex and the crowd. He, he started to climb the wall from the start to try to get over it before the barrier was raised. The crowd, now below him, noticed and tried to follow. Most couldn't get more than a few feet off the ground, yet a few managed to climb higher, trying to get to him. He crept climbing for another minute, and was near the top...

...when the ice began to spread and the barrier was raised. He cried out in rage while one of the others reached him. and threw him off the wall, seeing him as another obstacle. He continued to fall and the crowd parted. He landed and heard his neck snap-

* * *

His eyes snapped open, and he saw Sam hovering directly over his face with a worried expression. Once he saw he was alright, he rolled back onto his sleeping bag.

"Had the dream again?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, but this time, I tried to climb the wall, but wasn't fast enough."

"And you froze on the wall?"

"No. Some people that followed me threw me off and I landed on my neck."

"Wow," Sam sighed.

They got up with the rest of the students and went through their routines. At breakfast, Sam introduced Alex, Yang, and Ruby to each other. When the time came, they arrived on the cliff edge and waited for Ozpin and Glynda. They arrived shortly after and informed them of their task.

"For years you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin started, "today, your abilities will be evaluated in the emerald forrest."

Then Glynda spoke, "Now, I know many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams."

Alex and Sam glanced at each other, each raising an eyebrow.

"Allow us to put an end to that confusion," Glynda continued, "each of you will be given teammates. Today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin stated, "so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone who you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Alex and Sam both flinched when Ruby yelled "Whaaat!?"

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forrest. You will meet opposition on the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not interfere."

Alex was the first one to be launched, and was already equiping himself for the landing. His gauntlets opened and metal gloves contructed around his hands, while more metal came up from his neck wrap, forming a strong helmet with his battle playlist playing inside. As he got near a tall tree, he hooked his tous upward, and made a "t" out of his body. A large branch caught him at the armored ankles, and he swung around the branch by them three time bemire he let go. He flew upwards just a few feet, then securely landed on the same branch that hsd caught him.

He looked at the other students, still in the air, and spotted Sam. His oval-shaped shield was fully extended, three feet wide and six feet long, and was being used like a surfboard to sail through the air. He also dpotted Yang, rocketing herself forward with her shotgun gauntlets, and a javelin chasing after a student that threw up on the flight to Beacon, nailing him to a tree. Then he saw Fiona, not too far away, using the tree limbs to hop down under the canopy. He climbed town the tree trunk, his metal claws raking off bark. Once on the ground, he began a trek towards Fiona's most likely position.

* * *

As he got close to Fiona's position, he took cover at the sounds of beowulf passing nearby. He drew his eighteen inch revolver and held it at his side. Once the beowulf pack passed, he rose from cover and continued marching. He saw a tree catch fire off to his left, and the pack that went past him started howling. Ruby and Weiss passed in front of him, who was still unnoticed. The beowulf alpha spotted him, however, and he knew conflict was inevitable.

He raised the hand-held cannon with one hand, aiming at the alpha. He pulled the trigger just as a smaller beowulf pounced on his arm, biting at the elbow. Alex groaned in pain and the shot missed, devestating the trees in it's path. He grabbed the the creature's head with his left hand, and clamped down with the metal glove. It's skull was crushed almost instantly, and Alex felt the pressure on his arm go away. He looked at his arm to see the cloth didn't have a scratch, meing made from a steel mesh and dust cloth hybrid.

The rest of the beowulf pack paced around him, a few of them growling. He shot one in the torso, tearing a gaping hole through it and sending lightning jumping to it's closest companions, starting a chain reaction. Half of them were electrecuted bufore they spread out enough, and the survivors were more distant from each other than before.

One that was behind him pounced, and he turned around backslapping it, snapping it's neck. Two more pounced on his back, pinning him to the ground. They were clawing at his inpenetrable back, but were bound to start attacking more vulnerable places soon. He fired off a few shots, hearing the other beowulf and their dying howels, charged up a small sphere in his left hand, bursting with electricity. He prepared to smashing it on the ground, but stopped when he saw a pair of white boots sprinting towards him, and he let the sphere die out.

He heard the two beowulf howl in pain as their blood splattered on the grass. The pressure on his back left and he got up, looking to see who decided to help him.

"You hurt?" Fiona asked, a hint of concern, "that looked pretty rough there for a minute."

He looked down at her hand to see it was glowing white and gold, possibly a healing semblance. He turned around and showed him his unharmed coat, and replied with: "I'm fine, thanks for the conscern, though."

She let out a small sigh of relief and the glow in her hand faded.

"So, have you seen your brother yet?" She asked.

"No, but knowing him, he's probably taken someone under his wing, and is keeping a safe distance from ant grimm."

At that moment, they heard an explosion to the north...

* * *

""It didn't work," Trevor shouted, wiping dust out of his spikey orange hsir and off of his goggles.

"Damn it!" Sam cursed under his breath. Nothing had worked. Not Trevor's gatlin cannon, not his armor peircing rounds, and now even a makeshift bomb couldn't crack the beast's shell. He looked over the boulder that was "cover" and looked at the crab-grimm, the size of a cottage.

"This just isin't my day," he sighed. This would be a long day.


	3. III: The Challenge Part 2

Sam shot at the heavily armored grimm, but it raised it's claw fast enough to block his bullet. He looked back to check on Trevor, firing his arm-mounted gatling cannon at some ursai that were trying to hit them from behind, forcing them back. Hetree effed wax RWBY looked back over at the crab-grimm the size of a cottage. It was keeping its distance...for now.

"Why are we still holding this position!?" Trevor yelled over his gunfire, "this isin't exactly the best place to be right now!"

"The explosion we made is bound to draw other students near us!" he explained, "if we move too far, the others could pass right by us and these grimm would still be on us!"

"Well, it sure attracted some grimm!" Trevor shouted sarcastically, as another ursa joined the four already there.

The crab began to move, and Sam tensed, ready to move despite what he just said. As he studied it's eyes more , however, he noticed it's eyes weren't in the shape of aggression, but of...fear?

With timing that squires could have sung songs about, Alexander vaulted directly over Sam, traces of blue electricity trailing behind him. The crab swung a claw at the approaching hunter-in-training, but Alex gracefully dodged it with a baseball slide. Alex came up from the slide shoving both metallic fists into it's eye sockets. The grimm let out a screech and hammered Alex's back with his claws, but was doing no damage.

Alex felt around inside it's head till he found the brain, and he put a hundred million volts into it. The crab's innards were fried, and it fell limp. He pulled his hands out of the sockets and walked over to his brother's cover. The ursai dispersed, not wanting to risk battling more hunters. Fiona came out from the bushes, still panting from the run in heavy armor.

"What?" Alex said sarcastically, "no 'thank you'?"

Sam just shook his head with a smirk, Trevor crossed his arms and frowned, and Fiona was still panting, hands on her knees. They heard a screech and looked up. It was a nevermore, and two figures were dangling from it. They were Ruby and Weiss, whom were arguing about something they couldn't hear.

"How did they get up there?" Trevor said in bewilderment.

"Forget how they got up there," Alex commented, "i'm wondering how they'll get down."

Then Ruby let go and dropped out of sight, and Weiss too, a moment later.

"Oh. That's how."

"Alright, everybody," Sam gathered their attention, " lets just get to the temple, collect our relics, and get back to the cliff. Okay?"

"It's your call, Sam."

"Sure."

"Let's just not run, okay?"

"Will-do. Lets move," he finished, and they started a steady jog towards the north, where Ruby and Weiss fell.

* * *

When they reached the 'temple', a semi-circle of stone pillars on a slab, they held their position at the edge of the forrest. Sam scanned the area with his eyes, looking out for grimm. He turned to Alex and hand-motioned for him to scan the area for life forms.

Alex closed his eyes and placed his bare hand on the ground. He first felt electric pulses eminating from himsef and the others, and then spred his search as far as possible. A couple moments later, he lifted his hand and opened his blue and silver eyes.

"Nothing nearby," he reported, "but i picked up some cofusing signals from some structues near the cliffs."

"We'll deal with that when we get to it," Sam stated.

Both pairs went up to the temple to find the relics weee chess peices. Alex picked up a white king as Sam picked up a white queen. They all started heading to the cliffs in pairs, the sounds of destruction ahead.

They reached the area to find the bridge had been destroyed, along with many other parts. About eight students could be seen atop the cliff across the gorge. The figures were just slipping out of sight when they arrived.

Trevor let out a low whistle, and looked aroun at the rubble, "looks like they had quite a battle."

"I think we might be next," Fiona said, "we've got company!"

The team turned around to see the ursai had returned, and with no small number of beowulf. They took positions and awited for Samuel's orders.

"Trevor, keep a supressing fire on those ursai and keep them away for now. Fiona, keep those beowulf from reaching Trevor and provide support when needed. Alex, eliminate those beowulf. I'll provide sniper fire from that pillar over there, watching your backs. Lets move!"

They split uff to do their different tasks. Trevor and Fiona advanced straight don the middle, Sam got perched on a pillar to their left flank, and Alex moved along their right, piching off beowulf with his revolver. Within a minute all the beowulf were eliminated and all that was left standing was five ursai. The tean regathered at Sam's pillar, Trevor holding them at bay with his gatling cannon.

"Okay," Fiona panted, "now what?"

Sam searched around him for something - anything - that he could use. He noticed the pillars were holding up stone platforms, and a plan formed.

"Alex and Trevor, get to opposite sides of the platform support pillars. Fiona, follow me to the center. When we draw the ursai past the pillars, I want you two to bring the structurs crashing down."

"After?" Trevor questioned, "but then we won't crush them with the stone!"

"I know," he said, "just do it, please."

They obeyed, and got ino their respective places. Fiona and Sam entered the open center, firing at the ursai. Agrivated, the grimm charged them, and left the cover of the trees. Sam and Fiona retreated to the cliffs, and when the ursai closed in, Sam shouted to his teammates:

"NOW!"

The pillars were obliterated, and the structures caved in behind the ursai. Sam and Fiona ran seperate directions, leaving the edge. The ursai ran to the cliff, being chased by the falling rubble. They gained too much momentum, and when they reached the edge, three of them fell off. The remaining two turned around to see the stone grind to a halt.

The two started to climb the piles of shattered rock, but didn't get far. One of them was mowed down by Trevor, too close for any evasion, and the other was sucker punched by Alex right off the cliff.

* * *

The team took the long way around, and eventually reachedvwhere the gorge ended. They climbed up the steep rock for a few mintes, using their own techniques. They reached the top at different times. Alex was first, and he helped pull Sam up over the lip. Trevor and Fiona followed closely behind, and they all headed to the area they were launched from.

Ozpin, Glynda, and a few dozen students were there. Glynda and Ozpin were givivg the same speech he had given them earlier, to a new batch of first-years. The dozen that were in their launch were gathered off to the side, and they joined them.

"Hey Sam!" Ruby called out as they approached, "Did you like the challenge? Did you fight any grimm? Which piece did you take? What color was it? Was any part of it difficult? Also, how many trees did you see?"

"Hmmm..." he thaught for a minute before answering, "Yes, yes, queen, white, no, 2,853."

For once, Ruby was speechless. Everyone but Alex looked at him in astonishment or confusion. Alex answered their unspoken questions for them.

"Sam's got a semi-perfect memory," he explained, "he has the memory of a normal person unless either physical conflict or questioning reqire him to recall older info that helps him in his situation."

"So..." Blake started, " he remembers what he wants to when he needs to?"

"Exactly."

"Oh."

"Alright," Glynda interrupted, "the first batch of students will be heading back to beacon with me. Let's go, students."

They followed her onto the dropship without question, and strapped in for the flight home, Alex and Sam were sitting across from Ruby and Yang. Their ride back was filled with recollections of that day's events, and started a few bonds of friendship.

* * *

Alex was tapping his foot to the beat of one of his favorite Achive Men songs as they waited to bo announced. Only four teams were left, and they were next. Glynda motioned for them to get on stage, and they lined up to leave. Sam was on the far end, with Trevor next to him. Fiona was next after Trevor, and Alex stood at the end of their line.

Once off of the backstage, they were introduced to the crowd by professor Ozpin.

"Samuel Skye, Trevor Gailium, Fiona Crest, and Alex Skye," the headmaster stated, "you collected the white royalty pieces. From now on, you will be known as team Starfall. Led by-Samuel Skye."

Alex turned to his brother, only slightly suprised. He had known Sam would become their leader by his actions during the challenge. He smiled, showing his teeth for the firs time at beacon. Sam looked back at him to see something no one else knew about: four larger-than-normal canines, giving him a slight wolf-like appearance...


	4. IV: First Day

Alex didn't dream that night. He barely slept, was becoming custom to his body's newer habits, he noticed a weekly cycle where he couldn't sleep one night. That night was one of those night. So he roamed his new home: Beacon

* * *

He kept strolling through the emty streets and courtyards of the academy, and started to draw a mental map in his head. 'The cafateria is there, and the main hall is here' he thaughr to himself. 'That building there is where all of us new students are living, and this one holds most of my classes.

He moved on into the dormitories now, figuring out where all the new teams were in reference to his. 'RWBY is the second dorm left of us, and JNPR is across the hall from them. CRDL was on the top floor, and that was the extent of teams he knew.' Satisfied with his finds, he went back into the dorm belonging to team STFA.

Inside the dorm, he watched over his companions for the next four years. Then he assessed their spatial situaton. Trevor, Fiona, and his beds were all aligned with their heads against the right wall, from door to window in that order. In the back-left corner Samuel was sleeping in a large leather recliner they had shipped in from their apartment. The last corner was stuffed by large cardboard boxes of furniture and other items. Alex eyed the boxes, and then opened one, getting to work...

* * *

Sam, Fiona, and Trevor all woke up at the same time, and were astonished by what they saw.

Throughout the night Alex had been busy, unpacking the boxes and organizing their room. A leather couch sat in thecorner the boxes were once in, a flat-screen TV was mounted on the left wall with four bean-bags under it, and a oakwood desk had been constucted aroud Sam's chair.

"What the-" Trevor was the first to make a verbal response.

Sam was mildly suprised, but knowing his brother, it didn't take long for him to figure it out. Trevor and Fiona, however, would need an explination. Sam began to speak, but was interrupted.

" What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, "who is pranking us on the first day?!"

"It's not a prank, Trevor. That wouldn't even be considered a prank, since-"

"I betcha it was those CRDL rats, jacking up with our stuff! When I get my hands on Cardin-"

"Calm down, Trevor," Fiona was involved now, " pranksters wouldn't give us a TV-"

"Thats not what i'm mad about! It's my game station! My presous, perfect, X-Play two, and I don't see it anywhere! Cardin's gonna pay for this one-"

Alex strolled in casually, waring only his navy blue cargo pants and a gray towel over his shoulders. Fiona blushed and glanced away, and Sam just rolled his eyes. Trevor turned to the freshly showered teen.

"You!" he said.

"Me?" Alex said, obviously confused.

"Yes," Trevor continued, "you. Will you help me take revenge on Cardin?!"

"Wha-"

"His X-Play," Sam answered.

"Oh. It's behind the bean-bags."

Trevor pounced on said items and tossed them behind him, pelting Fiona unintentionally. He found his prize and caressed it gently, rolling back and dort, whispering motherly things into it's disc port. The rest of the team looked away and went through their morning routines. By the time they werw ready, it was 8:45 and they headed to their first class.

* * *

Their last class was grimm studies with professor Port, but it felt more like "heroic tales of professor Port". Their teacher was rambling about the virtues ofa true hunter or huntress, and Alex had to admit he was bored. He looked over to his teammates and saw Sam and Fiona paying close attention, while Trevor looked like he might explode from inactivity any second.

"...so, who amongst you believes to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port finishied.

Alex and Trevor both raised their hands, hoping for a challenge, but were beat by Weiss in the front row.

"I do, sir!" she said.

"Well then," Port replied, "let's see. Step forward, and face your opponent."

Port was gesturing towards a cage about chest height, containing a Boarbatusk. The students chatted quietly amongst themselves as Weiss got up.

"Do you think she'll win?" Trevor asked.

"She'll have to be pretty accurate with that fencing-style sword do get past it's armor," Fiona started.

"-and should probably focus on using her glyphs to beat it," Sam finished for her.

"What i'm wondering," Alex commentated, "is how none of us noticed the big cage until Port pointed it out."

"Begin!" Port shoted as he released the Boarbatusk.

The grimm charged Weiss, whom deftly dodged the blow. Her teammates were shouting encouragement, especially Ruby. Weiss shouted back at her to stop and was caught off gaurd. The Boarbatusk grabbed her sword with it's tusks, and disarmed her by throwing it across the room.

"Ah-ha!" Port commentated, "now what will you do without your weapon!?"

Weiss rolled out of the way as the creature charged her. She dashed back to her weapon and picked it up, takeing back her stance. When the grimm charged her this time, she used a glyph to stop it. It hit the glyph and fell on it's back, and Weiss used another to launch herself at it. She lanced the Boarbatusk right in the stomach, and it let out it's death squeal.

"Bravo! It appears we are in the presence of a true huntress in training!" their professor applauded.

Port dismissed the class, and Weiss stormed out. The other students packed their things and went to their seperate dorms. When team STFA reached theirs, Foina sat onto her bed, Trevor flopped onto his, and Alex faceplanted his. Sam sat in his chair and closed his eyes.

"So...," Alex started, "anyone want to go do stuff?"

"The school is hosting tournament practice today," Foina suggested, "Ms. Goodwich is hosting it."

"What?" Trevor said in disbelief, "it's only the first day of classes and the're already prepping for something at the end of the year?"

"Better to be overprepared than not prepared enough," Sam stated, getting up from his chair, "we should get to know each other's combat abilities, too. Let's go."

The team grabbed their gear and headed to the gymnasium, sure that they would be the only ones there.

* * *

"...We're gonna die, arent we."

They entered the room to see a dozen other students were already there. Some were still getting into their combat clothes, most were practicing on combat dummies, and two students were in the boxing ring, duking it out. Trevor made his statement when they noticed the two in the ring. It was Yang Xiao Long and Lie Ren, the latter being pummled by the former. Glynda was standing to the side of the boxing arena, watching the students, along with their aura levels. Yang finishd Ren with one last uppercut, knocking him out of the ring.

"And Yang Xiao Long wins...again," Glynda said.

Alex and Sam looked around the room too see that almost a third of the other students had bruses and other forms of injury from fighting Yang one-on-one. Yang was looking for another challenger when her eyes fell on their group. She hopped out of the ring and came over to them, looking for a challenge.

"How about one of you guys?" she challenged, "I bet none of you could take me down on your own!"

"I'll take that bet," Trevor replied, stepping forward.

The two fiery teens got in the ring and prepped for their match. Yang was wearing her normal outfit, gauntlets included, while Trevor had to ditch his gatlin canon for a pair of semi-auto shotguns he wore on his thighs. He pulled back on a hinge fastened to each one, and they transformed into double-sided battle axes. Glynda synced his aura levels to her scroll, and declared the start of the match.

Both fighters charged at each other, Yang came in fast and low, and Trevor raised one ax for an overhead strike. Yang sidestepped his downward slash and struck him right in the stomach, then spun around for a roundhouse kick that sent him to the ropes. Trevor swung an ax to keep Yang back, but he swung to erly, and she landed three more punches before sending him out of the ring.

"And Yang Xiao Long wins again," Glynda sighed.

"Undefeated!" Yang shouted triumphantly, "who's next!?"

Trevor walked, or rather crawled, over to his teammates. Sam helped support him onto the bench, and and Fiona started using her healing semblance to patch him up. He turned to his brorher, who was already changed, but without his trench coat or revolver.

"You sure?" Sam asked, "it's just a spar, it can wait."

"Yeah..." Alex replied, watching Yang, "but I know I can take her."

He stretched out his limbs and began to approach the hill the yellow brawler had claimed.

"...and besides, it should be fun."


	5. V: Fighting with Fire

Alex strolled over to blue corner, Yang watching him from the red. He was wearing his black body suit with navy-blue pants over them. On top of that, he had his metal gauntlets, greaves, and boots. The last peice he wore was his sky blue neck wrap.

He reached his corner and took his signature stance, left foot forward, with his left arm stretched out over said leg, and his right arm cocked back at his waist. His metal gloves came out of his gauntlets, forming around his hands, and his helmet came out of his neck wrap, following suit. Yang took a neutral boxer's stance, and Glynda signaled the start of the match.

Yang charged him, pulling her right fist back for a punch. He shifted his weight to his back leg and threw the other behind him. His heel came around and bat Yang's arm away. He used the rebound off the hit to knock away her other arm, and rebounded off of that to kick her firmly in the jaw. He braught his left leg down as he kicked up with his right, knocking his opponent's head back with a blow to the chin. His leg swung behind him, and he used the movement to reach out and punch Yang in the cheek, sending her reeling back.

The armored boy retook his position as Yang showed a look of astonishment, with a hint of rage. The yellow brawler charged again, taking some delight from the thaught of having a challenging fight. She came fast and low this time, striking at her opponent's legs. They jumped to the side, and she perused. She swung a left hook for his crotch, which he blocked with his shin. She reacted by landing a straight punch in his unarmored abdomen, and then an uppercut on his helmet, sending him reeling back this time.

'You're a fast little devil, aren't you?' Alex thaught to himself, blocking an incoming fist with his gauntlet, 'well, let's see if you can hit THIS.' He began to dodge her blows with unseen agility, weaving in and out between her strikes. Whenever he moved, traces of blue electricity could be seen trailing behind the armored portions of his body. He let yang chase him around the ring, not wanting to risk a blow that could knock him out of it. When he saw a large enough opening, Alex lashed out at Yang's face with the claws of his glove, and cut a hair in the process.

Yang stopped, and he took a few steps back. The single holder hair he had severed fell on the ground, Yang watching it all the way down. She closed her eyes and opened them to reveal they had turned form dark purple to brilliant red.

"You-" she said, anger causing her fists to tremble, "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"

Yang threw out hir fists, and her gauntlets and hair flashed in flame. Alex started up his electified evasion again, but was escaping Yang's blows by a much smaller margin. Her strikes grew faster, and Alex felt one or two graze him. He ducked under a left hook and spun his left heel into the small of her back, knocking her onto the ropes. She turned around, swinging a right hook that he also ducked, and was giver a shin to the midsection. She got a hold of his leg and threw him into the corner. Before she closed in enough to trap him, however, he laid low to the ground and lept forward like a bolt of lightning, knocking Yang's legs out from under her and arriving to the opposite corner a split-second later. Alex pulled his right arm down to his side, opening his fingers wide. The claws retracted and a blue sphere, crackling with electricity, formed in his palm. Yang came back with an overhead downswing, and he met it with the orb, crushing it between their hands.

Yang's body went limp, and to resultant force of the sphere's destruction sent her sailing across the room. She bounced off the far wall, and landed on a bench. The girl with a black bow was sitting on the bench with a book, and was surprised to see her partner crash-land next to her.

Alex vaulted himself over the ropes and strode over to where Yang landed. When he reached her, his helmet and gloves retracted as he offered a hand to pull her up. She took it, and Alex got her up on her feet, checking her over for any possible long term injuries. She resisted at first, but eventually let him, with a slight smirk.

"I guess we drew quite a crowd," Yang spoke first, looking over the dozens of students still watching her.

"People always notice when a ruler is knocked off of their throne," he stated, finding no large injuries.

She brushed him off, and sat down by her teammate. Blake glanced up at her from her book, and then past her to Alex. He caught her gaze with those shining blue eyes, and reached out his hand in introduction.

"I'm Alexander Skye," he said, "who are you, if I may ask?"

"Blake," she stated nonchalantly, still holding her book.

Alex eventually retracted his hand, and Blake returned to her book. He turned to Yang with a 'what's up with her?' expression on his face. Yang just shruged and looked down at her gauntlets to check for damage. His faunus smell caught the scent of cat and he looked back at Blake's bow. He swore he saw it twitch and he looked her in the eyes. She was glaring back at him, silently saying 'not a word'. They broke eye contact just as Yang looked back up, unaware of their brief conversation. Alex smirked as he turned back towards his teammates across the room. Sam and the others walked over to them.

"Hey, Yang," Sam said, catching her attention, "remember me?"

She thaught for a moment before remembering, then replied, "yeah, you're ... Sammy, right?"

"Samuel, but close enough," he looked over to a smirking Alex and then back to Yang, "so, how did you like my little brother kicking your butt?"

Both Alex and Yang blushed slightly, and Alex covered his by having his helmet build around his head. Sam chuckled and shook his head. "Aww, c'mon you two, it's just a joke!"

"Well, it's not a funny one!" Yang and Alex looked at each other, stunned that they had the exact same response. This caused them to blush more and Alex threw a chair at Sam, which was dodged. Yang stood up and told Blake they should go. They left, Yang waving at a still blushing Alex.

He waved back as they turned the corner, and then spun around to sock Sam right in the jaw, "what was that for!?"

"Hey," Sam said, still chuckling a bit, "at least she knows you like her, now. And I know FOR SURE she likes you too."

Alex struck him in the jaw again and stormed out, with what looked like a small storm cloud following him. Sam just sighed and motioned they should get going too, and they left.

* * *

Alex dashed past Blake and Yang and into his dorm, slaming the door behind him. He waited for them to pass before he leapt out the window. He hit the ground running and decided the best way to cool off would be to run it off.

Fifteen minutes (and twice that many miles) later, Alex arrived back under their window, calm and collected. He used his electrifited movement to swiftly climb up to the sill and into the room, startleing Fiona and Trevor. Alex flopped onto his bed and was unconsous almost instantly, faint thaughts of a feiry soul filling his dreams.

* * *

Yang slept soundly that night, exausted from her brawl with Alex. He was cute, she had to admit, but it would take a lot more than looks to impress her. So far, she had been impressed. She slept, thinking about the boy in blue.


	6. VI: Friends of Now, Thaught of Past

The wall was there, with the crowd against it, and Alex at the edge. He looked to his left to see Yang was there, or, at least a memory of her was. The barrier rose, and he turned around slowly, knowing his fate. Yang enlarged her bracelets into full gauntlet size, and charged, firing explosive fireballs at the approaching ice. He chased after the yellow brawler, but couldn't catch up. His semblance was gone in this world, and he lagged behind.

Yang halted as the ice grew closer, holding her position. She kept firing, but to no effect. Alex finally reached her and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back. She broke his grip and kept fighting, but the cold was slowing her movements.

When she was weak enough, Alex picked her up and ran back to the wall, barely out running the ice. He reached the edge of the crowd and made a last stand, firing Yang's gauntlets for her. He felt the ice creep up his legs and looked down into Yang's eyes. They faded from a vivid purple to a faint silver-blue, and the ice encased them both.

* * *

It was lunch time now, and the members of team STFA were looking for a spot to sit down and eat. Alex, whom was still thinking about his most recent dream of the wall, felt a nudge from Sam and looked up. He was gesturing towards a table teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting at. He led them to the table and they sat down, Trevor and Fiona on the JNPR side, and Alex and Sam sat with RWBY.

"Hey guys," Ruby said, "how are you all doing?"

"Good."

"Great!"

"Okay..."

"Meh."

Alex snapped out of his train of thaught for a moment and looked at who was sitting next to him. It was Blake, reading one of her books. He got curious and leaned over, skimming down the page.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked.

"It's none of your biusness," she replied, quicly closing her book. Alex leaned back over, already recognizing the genre with just the few paragraphs he ha managed to read.

"Ohhh," he realized, "so you're into THAT kind of literature."

"What kind?" Yang interjected, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Thats none of your business, too," Blake countered, getting defensive. She turned to yang, "why are you interested all of a suddent?"

"Ummm...well..."

Blake just sighed and got up, heading for another table. Now there was an empty space between Alex and Yang, and they both grew uncomfortable. Alex could feel Sam nudging him over, and he gave him a glare. Sam glared back and wore a face saying 'talk or I tell'.

Alex sighed and looked down at his platter for somerhing to say. He ended up on an old technewe he had used to break the ice in the past, and decided to use it. "So, I kinda beat you up pretty good yesterday," he started, " how're ya yangin' in there?"

Dead silence. The whole table slowly turned to look at him in sync. He gave them a moment to let it sink in before raiding a peicebof rope he left tied up. "What? Is now 'knot' the time?"

Half the table began to laugh hysarically, while the others kept giving him blank stares. Yang was slamming her fist on the table and Jaune almost spurt milk out of his nose. Sam put his head in his hand and slowly shook it, obviosly embarrased. The laughter eventually died down and he caught Yang's gaze. They both started to blush before looking back down at the table, and the laughter started up again. 'Damn,' he thaught, 'Sam was right, wasn't he.'

* * *

Alex was walking out of their last class when Sam grabbed his shoulder. "Come on,' he said, "professor Ozpin wants to speak with us."

"What for?"

"I'm not sure. He didn't say." They headed to the central tower where Ozpin's office was located, both pondering what the headmaster would want to talk to tham about so early in the school year. When they entered the office, Ozpin was standing at the window, overlooking the campus. He turned around when the door shut behind them and motioned for them to take two seats in front of his desk. Alex gazed up into the cogs and gears above them, turning slowly.

"As you both know," Ozpin started, catching their attention, "you two are some of few exeptions iv'e allowed into my school. Both of you meet all the proper requirements exept attending one or more pre-Beacon academys for training young hunters and huntresses. You two do have a history, however, with tasks that others would see as impossible for humans or faunus, let alone young adults."

"Where are you going with this?" Ssm questioned.

Ozpin let out a sigh and got to the point. "You two have a dark past with the world you wish to leave behind. You came here, hoping for more...'normal' lives. I have granted you acceptance to my school, and now I ask that you help me with kerping the world in balance."

They understood. "What do you require?" Sam asked.

"A task that requires no small amount of skill, strength, and courage," Ozpin stated, "I'm sending the details to your scrolls. Rest up, you'll need it."

* * *

The next day, Fiona and Trevor woke up with the Skue brothers missing. They found a note on the door stating that they would be back in a day or two, and that they were helping Ozpin with a few things. The note didn'y specify, but they got over it and contined their day as they normally would.

* * *

Hundreds of miles north, in the great northern evergreen forrest, sat an anchient castle, seemingly abandoned. Underneath, however, was a large cave system, carved out mechanical drills. A small army of mercenaries Inhabited the caves, watching over dozens of war machine prototypes their employer had payed them to gaurd.

When night fell on the snow-covered landscape, most of the occupants moved topside, setting some of the humanoid models on patrol. Two figures in gray cloaks watched fom some distant treetops, watching the castle. One figure raised his hand, and made a quick hand signal to the other. The other nodded, and leapt to the grond, making a soft cruch in the snow. The first figure looked back at the castle, thinking of ways to break it down.


	7. VII: Winter and Darkness

There was no moon for light this night. Clouds blocked it out, while more snow fell from above. The mercenary shivered, rubbing his hands together for warmth. He placed them on his long rifle when he was done, looking down the scope at the empty field south of the place they were all holed up. He was positioned on the top floor of what used to be the castle's southeast tower. He looked to his right at the machine-gun nest in the southwest tower, and then left to his spotter.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Nope," his spotter replied nonchalantly, "it's 'bout as populated as a vcr store down there, and the managers' dead."

"Damn," he said, hunkering down on the cold stone. They waited another hour or so until their shift was close to ending, and the sniper started talking again. "So, you up for some grub after we-"

"Contact."

"What?" he was taken back for a moment.

"We've got contact," the spotter repeated into his radio, "it appears to be a humanoid three hundred meters from the south gate in a gray cloak. It appears to be unarmed and standing at about five-foot six, it's approaching at-"

"Five-ten, thankyouverymuch!" He found the target, yelling at them, arms outstretched.

"How can it hear us?"

"Don't know, but Charlie's giving us the green light. Take him down." He put his eye up to the scope aimed for the center of mass and adjusted, and pulled the trigger. The shot made it about two hundred meters before it shattered backwards. "The hell-"

"What happened," he questioned his spotter.

"Someone shot your bullet mid-flight," he said, mouth agape, "I-I've never seen anyone hit a target so small and fast like that."

"Was it that?" the sniper asked, pointing at the figure, approaching them now.

"No, the angle of the intercepting bullet was as if it came from the side." They were interrupted by another round going through the side of the rifle, making them both jump and look west. They culdn't see the shooter, but they saw another bullet as it planed itself on the rifle, not through it. It flashed a red light twice and detonated in flame.

The cloaked grey figure was getting closer when it saw the explosion on top of the sniper's tower. The machine gun nest to it's slight left opened fire. It waved in and out between the bullets, leaving yellow streaks in their wake. That tower detonated, too, and the figure reached the gate. It kicked down the tall oak gates in one blow, and entered the courtyard. A dozen mercenaries took aim, and the figure halted in their midst...

...a few moments later, the figure put the grey cloak on again, the enemy lying unconscious around him. A second figure in a grey cloak entered the courtyard, stepping over the bodies. He approached the first figure, and patted him on the back.

"You could have been a little less rough," Sam said.

"Meh," Alex responded, continuing on through the courtyard, "thay practically called me short. They had it coming."

They approached a door that would lead to the underground, and decended.

* * *

They came back up a short while later, Alex tossing a small data chip with his left hand. Sam stopped when he noticed three figures in the courtyard's gateway.

The one on the left was a thin male with black and green robes, weilding nothing but what looked like a basic katana in his left hand. His hair was jet balck, and his venom-green eyes stares them down. The figure on yhe right was also male, but was bulky with bare arms and flaming red armor plating on his torso and legs. This one was armed with wristband flamethrowers, and what appeared to be rocket boots. He wore a red gas mask with glowing lenses, looking who knows where.

The final figure was older and taller than his teenage allies, wearing a black business suit with no other colors. The man was unarmed with his hands behind his back and gazed at them with startling white eyes. "Why, hello there."

"Sup," Alex said, slightly cocking his head back.

Sam asked the first question, "what do you want?"

The man chuckled and shook his head "You kids are so eager nowadays," he said, "I want what you appear to have already obtained. Now give me the chip, and I'll make sure these two," he gestured to the other figures, "kill you quickly."

"Alex looked at Sam, his helmet constructing around his head. Sam looked at the figures for a moment and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he simply nodded, and they tore off their cloaks. Sam pulled his shield out of nowhere, and transformed his sniper rifle into a heavy war hammer. His violet cloak unfolded to cover most of his figure, and he took his stance. Alex tore off his cloak to reveal his regular combat setup, but instead of drawing his revolver, he splayed his hands out, sparking with electricity.

The man sighed, "very well." He turned and walked away as he commanded the boys, "kill them."

* * *

"Really? Thats it?"

"Yes, Ruby," Fiona replied, "thats it."

"They just left a note? No goodbyes or anything?"

"Sam did say he hates goodbyes," Trevor mentioned, laying on his bed. Trevor, Fiona, Ruby, and Weiss were in Starfall's dorm room, and were looking for Samuel. "Why do ya want to see him, again?"

"Sam and I promised to meet and show eachother our weapons," Ruby explained, "you know, since we didn't get to see them in the emerald forrest."

"Well, we'll let you know when they return," Fiona reassured her, "I promise. Okay, Ruby?"

"Okay," she agreed, "see you guys later."

Trevor finished with, "chao," rinnung his hands through his spikey orenge hair.

Ruby and Weiss went back down the hall and into their dorm where Blake and Yang were. They all got rrady for bed and talked for a while. They talked about their first week of classes, the trip to forever fall in a few weeks, and the missing members of team Starfall.

* * *

The boy in red jumped in the air, using his boots to boost him up, while the boy with the katana charged straight for them. Alex formed an electric blue sphere in his hand, yet it was hollow, unlike the solid one he had used on yang. He launched it, and the katana boy dodged left. Alex fired a few more spheres at him until he got close, and Samuel engaged.

Sam pushed him back with his gigantic shield, a swung a horizontal strike with his hammer. The samurai ducked and went for a horizontal slash, but Sam had used the momentum of his hammer to spin himself around and bring his shield between them. He scoweled as his attack bounced off, and persued Sam with more slashes from his katana. Sam blocked every blow perfectly, even able to get a few more swings out with his hammer.

Alex looked up to see the red armored one pull out a pair of smgs, and leapt back as he fired at his feet. The flying menace chased him with twin streams of flaming dust rounds. When he went to reload, Alex took his chance and clambered up the stone brick wall, reaching the same elevation at the top. He leapt off the wall towards the red boy, who simply flew backwards, firing both weapons. To the boy's suprise, Alexander's coat encased him, and he flashed like a bolt of lightning, striking him and bringing him to the ground.

Alex and the stranger crashed right between Sam and the samurai, forcing them apart. Alex stood up into a lightning kick, sending the red one into his ally. "It's been nice," he said, stepping back towards Sam, "but we should get going."

Sam's cloak expanded and concealed them, shrinking by the second. The boy in red lept forward, firing both wrist band flamethrowers. When the flames cleared, the brothers were gone.

* * *

Weiss woke up feeling something pushing her, and rolled over to see who it was. Ruby was standing there, willing her to concousness. Weiss looked at the time on her scroll and was only mildly shocked it was three in the morning.

"What now?" she said in a hushed tone.

"The cafeteria is supposed to get a new shipment of desserts tonight," she whispired excitedly.

"Cookies?"

"Cookies."

Weiss sighed and got out of bed, arguing with herself about the morals of what they were about to do. They sneaked out of th dorm and towards the mess hall and the kitchen attatched to it. They stopped when they reached the back door of the kitchen and heard voices.

"Where do these go? Fruits of vegtables?"

"Fruits, of course."

"Really? I thaught tomatoes were vegetables."

"They don't grow in the ground, and they have a structure similar to apples and other fruits, so they're fruits, I think."

Ruby looked at Weiss with a hint of exitement. They recognized those voices. Weiss tried to stop her but was too late as the girl used her semblance to escape her reach and burst into the room. Alex, and his brother Sam, were dressed in their pitch black bodysuits with white aprons over them. Alex was holding a ceate of tomatous larger than he was, and Sam was looking through what looked like instructions for something. They both looked up when Ruby and Weiss entered.

"What are you two doing here?" Weiss demanded.

"We could ask you two the same..." Sam started.

"...but we already know why you're here," Alex finished.

Sam leaned over to pick up a small cardboard box, which he tossed to Ruby, "chocolate chip cookies, right?"

"H-how did you..."

"Sam's an attentive person," Alex explained, placing the crate down with some others, "he picks up on a lot of things."

Weiss folded her arms across her chest, both to show her strict attitude and help cover where her pajamas didn't from the gaze of the teenage boys. She gave Alex a glare and spoke, "you still haven't answered my question."

"Ozpin was looking for help from students this week with the grocery orders this month," Sam explained, "anb we just happened to be the first ones he asked. We agreed to help, and the number of people needed was filled soon afterward. The other volunteers are done with there work, so now it's just us organizing."

The ice queen didn't look amused, but sensed she wouldn't find out anything else, and withdrew. The two girls left with their prize, headed to their dorm. When the girls were well out of earshot, Alex turned to his brother, who was already answering his question.

"Ruby dosen't suspect anything, and Weiss won't pry into it anytime soon," he stated, "they'll know when we need them to know."

Alex nodded, and they went back to work. No one but Ozpin and the two brothers would know about the events of earlier tonight, and even Ozpin would be left without the details.


	8. VIII: Questions and Answers

'This is, without a doubt, one of the worst days of my life,' Alex thaught to himself, 'heck, the day I got devoured by a nevermore was better than this torture. At least I could fight my way out.'

He was trapped between two of the most fearsome creatures he had ever seen: Glynda Goodwich and Weiss Shnee. They were hassling him over what he saw as a simple mistake. Weiss thought otherwise, however, and Glynda trusted her more than him. Glynda looked back towards him with a look of obvious anger.

"Will you admit what you did yet, or are you still going to lie to me?"

He sighed and met her fiery gaze with one of his own. "I already told you, it was just an accident. I had just gotten out of the shower and had a towel around my waist. None of my teammates were at the dorm when Weiss knocked on the door, so I answered it. I opened the door and, well, my towel wasn't as secure as I thaught."

"He purposely flashed me!" Weiss wasn't gonna let it go. "Look! He's not even embarrassed! That proves it was intended!" She glared at him, apparently trying to make him explode or freeze to death with her eyes, possibly both.

"Why should I be embarrassed of my body?" he countered, "I only have the towel like that because other people aren't comfortable with me being nude, and it gives me somewhere to put it."

"You knew I was coming to ask Samuel about, and you planned to embarrass me with your, your-"

"Calm down," Glynda commanded. She forced them into silence while she worked out the scenarios explained by both students. Alex got a look of realization and looked at Weiss with one of curiosity.

"What were you wanting to ask my brother?"

Weiss was on the defensive now. "T-that's none of your business," she stammered, "w-what does it matter to you?"

"My brother and I communicate everything with each other. If you ask him your question, I will find out with or without your concent..." He leaned forward on the table that seperated them, causing her to lean back. "...so it would be in your best intrest to tell me now. I might even be able to give you an answer."

She sat there puzzled for a moment, but eventually began to respond. "I...still don't have to answer that."

Ms. Goodwich interjected there, "actually, providing evidence that you did have a real purpose being there would help your case. Your accusations are pointless without proper evidence. "

Weiss shifted in her chair, showing some frustration. "Then...I...I drop all of my accusations."

"Well then," Glynda stood up from her chair, "we're done here."

They left the room and went seperate directions. Glynda went to the faculty facility, Alex to the dormitory, and Weiss to the library once she realized going to her dorm would place her on parallel paths with Alex.

* * *

Alex entered team STFA's room, and Sam was working on some leadership class work with his back to him at his desk. Sam felt his presence and turned around to ask him about his day, but paused when they made eye contact. Seconds was all it took for their expressions to communicate between one another. The room was otherwise vacant, so they decided to talk verbally.

"Are you sure that was her question?" Sam said.

"Weiss isn't hard to read," he explained, "I almost got it all from her reactions."

"If that's the case," Sam stood up, stretching his back, "then we should just tell her."

Alex almost began to argue with him, but decided against it, knowing he was right. After quickly deciding who would go where, they grabbed their gear and split up, Alex for the library and Sam for team RWBY's dorm.

Sam was at the door in seconds, knocking on the wood. "Anyone home?"

"Who is it?" he could hear Ruby ask.

"It's Samuel," he replied, "you know, the tall one in a violet cloak." Ruby opened the door and invited him in, but he politely refused. "I was just looking for Weiss. My brother and I have a few things to explain to her."

"Oh," Ruby was slightly surprised, "what is it? We can carry the message."

Sam waved the notion off with his hand, "not necessary. If she's not here, then Alex will find her in the library shortly. Besides, it's not information we're willing to share with all of you yet."

"Then why are you telling Weiss?" Blake said it more like a statement than a question, and didn't look up from her book. "She's not a gossip, but I still wouldn't trust any sensitive parts of my backstory with her."

"Nor with anyone else..." Sam commented, under his breath. He looked back up towards her and spoke more clearly, "...but Alexander and I can't keep our pasts secret forever. It's better to leak it out slowly than to create tension until it breaks out on it's own. Thanks, but no thanks."

With that , he left them and went down the staircase at the end of the hall, leaving the building.

* * *

"What?! That's nothing near the truth!"

"-and your response gives me all the more reason to believe it is," Alex groaned as he placed his face into his palms, trying to get past his frustration. They were at one of the mire private corners of the library, and Weiss was the one in the corner. "You want to know how we got into beacon. You know we didn't go to any grimm combat schools before, and why there isn't anything about us in the school data base other than our entry forms. To put it blunt, you think we didn't earn our place here."

"No! I - I don't think-" Weiss stuttered trying to find away to slip past him.

"You're right."

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks, giving him a blank stare. He knew she was proud to be right, but the shock of him openly telling her kept her stunned. Alex stepped back and sat on the ground with his legs crossed, and gestured she do the same. After a moment of Weiss struggling to sit this way in her skirt, he began to explain.

"We didn't grow up training to fight grimm like most," he started, "Samuel and I were still just trying to survive. We had to fight every day against other people to keep ourselves fed, and sometimes we didn't succeed. We learned every way the human body could move from our opponents, and were actually doing wall on the streets for a while."

"Then one day, Samuel found a way to unlock his aura, and used it to unlock mine. We began to travel, and left behind the city I never cared for. We learned more about our auras and our semblances. " He formed a small orb of blue electricity in his left palm, watching it glow as he continued his story. "I was granted the ability to control and create electrical pulses, and am still discovering more applications for it. Sam's semblance is still largely unknown to us, but he can use it to alter how the dimensions effect him, being one place one moment and another place the next."

Alex looked Weiss in the eye, his face almost expressionless. "We made our lives using our semblances and our ability to combat humans for lien. We were the best hunters around, and made sure to hide our real identities from our enployers. We grew tired of fighting our own kind, and started looking for another way yo live that didn't involve harming people but still used our skills as fighters."

"So you came to beacon," Weiss was connecting the pieces.

"Yes. One of our past employers knew Ozpin, and after the professor found out what he could about us, he invited us to beacon. We took the opportunity, and now we're going to fight these creatures of grimm instead of humans and faunus."

Weiss sat there for a moment, thinking through what she had just heard. She was still thinking when Sam walked into their corner of the library and sat down with them. A few moments later she looked back at Alex. "Just one more question."

He made a shrug-like gesture with his arms and replied, "go ahead."

"You mentioned faunus only once at the end, like you were trying to hide something, but got careless at the end and said it anyways. Are you two...faunus?"

Sam answered first, "he is, i'm not."

"Same dad, different moms," Alex explained, "I mean, we're only three months apart in age."

"Oh..." Weiss and the brothers sat in silence. Eventually, Ruby came looking for Weiss, and found them in their corner.

"Hey guys!" she cheerfully said in a hushed tone, "what are you guys doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Samuel said, "just talking. I still haven't seen crescent rose yet, you know."

"Oh! Right," Ruby recalled, "sorry about that, when can you see her?"

"Why not now?"

"Now?" both Ruby and Weiss responded.

"Yep," Sam and Alex stood up in unison, "you and Yang can double-duel Alex and I in a siblings battle. Go get your sister and we'll meet at the north-east courtyard in half an hour."

Ruby dashed out, rose petals in her wake. Alex and Sam strolled on out, and Alex began to stretch his limbs, already pumped up for the fight."Ohhhh boy," he said excitedly, "this is gonna be fun."


End file.
